We Are Legion!
by King Alabast
Summary: The necromancer has been defeated, but now a greater threat rears its head. With the excuse they were looking for in tow, Legion prepares to launch its attack against Hellsing with the assistance of Iscariot. Not only that, but Henry seems to be losing his humanity at a terrifying rate...
1. A Dark Premonition

**And here we have the first chapter of Arc 2! I'm excited to be back! I apologize for taking ten days to get this out. I wanted to give time to get reviews on Arc 1, but... well, let's just say the results were lackluster. Anyway, I'm glad to be back in business!**

 **That said, if you haven't read the first arc, Music of the Night, please go back and read that. Well, in all honesty, you could stick around and read this chapter first as a kind of pilot. This chapter has a bit of content that goes back over the events of the previous story, so it shouldn't be too horribly jumbled to understand this chapter specifically, but as the story goes on it would become trouble if you didn't read the first arc. Whatever you choose, I'm pleased you've chosen to read my work!**

* * *

The smell of mildew wafted through the cramped room, making the air taste foul. Not a speck of light was present. Or perhaps his eyes were just closed. Beneath himself Henry could feel the soft cushion of the bottom of his "coffin". There were no sounds in the room other than a light drip of water in the corner.

"Mmm" Henry groaned as he tried to wake himself up. He found he could not seem to open his eyes, much less move his body other than a few finger twitches. After a few more seconds of this he resigned himself to staying still and with another moan stopped trying.

His entire body ached as if he had been sleeping in an uncomfortable position all day; which is was very likely he had, all things considered. He attempted at opening his eyes once more, this time succeeding in cracking them a bit. He still found himself unable to move the rest of his body, though. Glancing around he gathered that he was in fact in his room at the Hellsing Manor. Though the veil of darkness had enveloped the room, his vampiric eyes could still see clear as day. His desk was against the wall, with nothing on it but a mirror he could not use. That was all that took up space in his room besides his bed and a wooden stool.

Failing once more to move his limbs, he considered closing his eyes again and going back to sleep, but his thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of a rusted door. Though cursed with to be without locomotion for the time being, he could still shift his vision towards the door; which revealed the shape of his female partner.

The blonde woman who now strolled into the room appeared to be in her early twenties, but was in fact closer to around her fifties. Seras Victoria had been turned into a vampire decades before Henry had, but her physical form had failed to age a single year. She wore her khaki uniform as always, a Hellsing family crest on the left side of her chest, and a skirt that seemed a bit too short to meet regulation.

Seras walked slowly towards Henry's bed, picking up the stool and carrying it with her before dropping it down beside where he lay and sat down. "So I see you're finally awake." she commented looking Henry in the eyes.

Henry attempted to reply, but still found himself unable to move his mouth.

Seras waited a moment before doing anything, but seemed to notice the frustrated look in his eye and stood. She proceeded to grab his shoulders with her gloved hands and pull him up into a sitting position. Henry winced in pain at his muscle's complaining about the movement, but he could really do nothing to stop her.

"That feel better?" She asked. Henry gave her a thankful look, but predictably said nothing. His limbs did at length quit hurting. It was a more comfortable position than the one he'd been stuck in. Henry attempted one last time to move his arms, this time succeeding in lifting one slightly above his lap. He still could not bend his head forward or he might fall over like a newborn baby, but he positioned his eyes to watch his arm. Seras noticed where he was looking and glanced down to his arm as well.

"I can tell you're having a hard time. It's hardly surprising after last night. I can't imagine being Blake's puppet could feel all that good." She leaned back as far as she could without tipping the stool over, a small smile appearing on her pale face. "Fortunately we won't have to deal with him anymore."

Henry furrowed his eyebrow for a moment in consternation before recalling the events of the night before. They had fought Blake Casimir at Stonehenge for the final time. He managed to put up a fight, even going so far as to control Alucard with his makeshift necromancy, but they had finally managed to defeat him; via Henry draining him of blood. Henry did what he could to nod at Seras, but could only move his head so much.

Seras seemed to notice his miniature movement and her smile grew a bit more. "I'll admit, though, you had me a bit scared when you passed out back there. You've been asleep for a good twenty four hours."

Henry's eyes grew a little wider, but he made no further movement. He really couldn't if he wanted to.

"I carried you back here and informed Integra of what happened." Her smile disappeared from her face, replaced with a sort of displeased frown. "She said she wanted to talk to you as soon as you were awake. I was sent to check on you again, which is why I'm here now." she explained.

Henry's stomach twisted in a knot. Integra wanting to talk with him could not be a good thing. Had he done something wrong? Had her patience worn thin and he was going to be regarded as an enemy? Different scenes of the many ways she could have Alucard execute him flashed through his eyes as he thought.

Seras sighed, defeated. "I guess we'll have to get you up, then." The blonde girl stood again and put her arms under his back and legs, easily lifting him off the bed. She turned and deposited his feet on the ground, still holding his shoulder to make sure he didn't fall.

Henry painstakingly turned his head and nodded in her direction. Finally a bit of movement was possible. He blinked a few times before taking a step forward, still supported by the female vampire. He attempted to speak again, succeeding in a hoarse voice "Thank you."

She smiled in reply and nudged him forward a bit. "Well now that you can talk again we shouldn't waste any time. Integra hates waiting." she explained. Henry nodded again and took a few tentative steps forward, eventually managing to exit his room, Seras shutting the rusted steel door behind them. The dungeon like hallway was not much different from the room itself; wet stone walls, and the air reeking of mold. It seemed to stretch on forever before turning into a stairwell that led to the more scenic parts of the mansion.

Once they got up the steps they left the green stone behind them, replaced with cream colored walls, panelled by wooden pillars, large paintings inhabiting each panel. The bottom part of the wall was decorative wooden molding, met by marble floor covered by a clean red carpet with gold lining. Much more pleasing to Henry's picky eye. He preferred the sophistication of the new scenery to what was given to him downstairs. Up until now he had been given full reign of the manor at all times with the exception of when they had a mission. It was a shame that was now in jeopardy.

Henry turned his head around and looked Seras in the eye as he staggered along. "Did she seem angry?" he inquired. A childish question, but surely one relevant to the situation.

Seras sighed. "Well, I can't say she was happy by any means. If you're asking if she's going to turn you over to Alucard like a Freak, I don't think so. I don't think you've done anything too bad, so she'll probably only want you to report what you did in detail so she can decide what next to do with you. I suppose if she doesn't think you've been useful enough there is the chance she'd throw you out." she shuffled her legs uncomfortably as she spoke. "Though if she did that I'd still be on your side." Seras' face returned to a smile, beaming at Henry.

Henry smiled his horrendous smile consisting of twisting one lip upward, and extending the other outward, but it quickly disappeared before he spoke again. "I haven't done anything too bad?" he asked. That was an odd wording. Had he really stepped out of line?

Seras's smile disappeared, retreating into an expressionless face. "Well, she seemed especially irritated when I mentioned how Blake finally died… You drinking his blood and all, I mean."

Henry's expression turned irritated, his eyebrows coming together and a frown forming. "We're vampires, though. Sir Integra herself supplies us with blood. What was the problem with me drinking him? It got the job done."

Seras winced at his words and looked to the floor. "Well, um, I'm afraid it's that attitude she doesn't like."

Henry frowned at her, unamused. "So you're suggesting that Alucard is less vicious than I? If Integra has a problem with vampires doing what's natural for them, then why does she keep so many around? This is a vampire hunting organization, after all. Isn't it a little bit strange that she uses vampires of all things? You told me about a few others like us. The Vatican's Iscariot and Legion and all of them. They don't use vampires, and they still get by. Why do we?"

Seras swallowed. "W-well, Alucard's a different case. She has him under control, and he wouldn't dare go against her orders even if he wanted to. He truly respects her."

"You dodged my question. What is the attitude she doesn't like if it's not the viciousness?"

She sighed once more, probably a record for the amount of sighs in one conversation. "I...I think you're accepting all this too quickly." she said.

"What?"

"Becoming a vampire, I mean. You've just sort of jumped right into it without hesitation. It's unnerving, I think. I took weeks to become adjusted to it. I refused to drink blood for the longest time, holding onto my humanity. Hell, at times I still do. You just seem to have… completely let go of it."

Henry stopped walking. He closed his eyes and slowly turned on his heels, facing Seras, who had at some point let go of his shoulder letting him stand on his own. "Why shouldn't I? It's only logical. It's either embrace this, or face Hell itself. Who do you think I am to do something as foolish as trying to cling to something I've already lost?"

Seras gasped and took a step backward, looking to the ground. "It… It's just…"

Henry stepped up to her, standing as tall as he could; albeit only reaching just over her height. "It's just what? What would I do if I didn't drink blood? Just let myself die? I'm not that foolish. If I'm a vampire, then I'm damned. It's simple as that. Quite honestly, Hell's one place I've been striving to avoid my entire life, and now it's inevitable. I will be quite happy holding onto this as long as I can." He squinted his eyes and glared at her. "What is it Integra dislikes about me?"

Seras took a step back again, her eyes tearing up at Henry's outburst. One red, bloody drop fell down her face before getting stuck at her cheek for a moment.

Henry gasped and took a step back. Foolish! He had just shouted at the person who let him live longer than he should have, and made her cry. His stomach yet again twisted in a knot, though this time not from fear, but rather from admonishing himself. He stepped forward once more and brought a finger to Seras' face, wiping the blood away from her cheek. He sighed quietly and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was… awful of me. I shouldn't have raised my voice."

Seras stared him down with stricken eyes for a moment that felt like forever. Henry was without a doubt she was wondering just what sort of monster she had saved. Disgusted with himself, Henry turned on his heels and started walking towards Integra's office.

"Wait!" Seras called after him. Henry turned around, surprised to be called out as such. The blonde vampire stopped right before him, wiping her eye with her hand to get rid of the blood left on her face. "I can understand if you're angry. You didn't ask for this kind of life. Just let me talk."

Henry looked to the ground, still ashamed. "Alright. So what is wrong with me, exactly?"

"Just that. You're throwing away your humanity without looking back at all. It's worrisome to Integra. You're not sealed like Alucard and I, you're a rogue. You're a liability to the organization, and the only reason you're still alive is because of me. It would make more sense if you wished to be human, but it seems you don't. On the battlefield you went straight into killing Blake without hesitation. If you could do it then, she would be worried about what you could do outside of battle. It's a legitimate worry, Ernest."

Henry paused for a moment, his breathing slowly getting heavier. "Seras…" he began, but took a pause before continuing. "Do you remember when I had you take me to the graveyard?" he asked, speaking slowly and carefully.

Seras nodded. "Yes, but that was only one time, and that was a while ago. You've shown no other signs of regret at all."

"I cried that night."

"I know…"

"If you people don't think this has affected me, if you think this hasn't hurt me, you'd be dead wrong. If there's one thing I'd like to go back and change, it's the night I was turned. The night all of _this_ -" he gestured wildly about the hallway "-happened. I hate the thought of all of this!" Henry looked to the floor, holding back a tear. "I miss my family. I just want to go home and see my friends. I want everything to go back to normal."

Seras took a step forward, but halted in place when Henry looked up again, a fire in his eyes. "But that's impossible. Nothing can save me now. All I can do is walk forward and put off something inexorable." A tear of blood finally did find itself coming down his face. He reached a hand up to his cheek and touched it, staring at his finger. "And this… _This_ is proof of that. All I can do is embrace this new Hell and hope that the final Hell never comes to take its toll."

Seras was frozen in place, her face stricken. "I… I'm sorry, Ernest."

"I'm not Ernest anymore. Integra made that quite clear."

With that Henry walked away towards Integra's office. Seras did not follow.

* * *

When Henry finally reached Integra's office, he found her sitting behind her desk, staring at a picture on the wall. It was a painting of a calm looking man with neatly trimmed white hair, with a matching beard and mustache. His eyes were bright blue, and his hands together just below his face. At Henry's entry, Integra's mind was torn from whatever thoughts she was having while looking at the picture. Her eye was electric blue, just like the man in the picture; the eye that worked. The other was covered by an eyepatch from an injury Henry had never bothered to ask about. Her hair was long, reaching all the way down her back, and completely white, Her skin was darker than the average english woman, but not too much so. Even then, it was the wrinkled skin of an old woman.

"So I heard you wanted to speak with me." Henry stated irreverently. He made his face betray no expression as he spoke.

Integra nodded and closed her eyes in a tired fashion. Not speaking a word she reached into her desk and pulled out a large cigar, which she promptly lit. She sat in silence smoking for what seemed like forever before she finally responded. "Yes. I want you to tell me about what happened at Stonehenge last night."

Henry continued disallowing his face to express emotion of any sort. "If I'm not mistaken, both Seras and Alucard have already told you of the events." At this he let loose a small smile. "I'm sure Schrodinger didn't hesitate to throw in his two cents either."

Integra's face went from tired to irritated in an instant, her careless eyebrows coming together into an irritated glare. "You would be correct, but now I want to hear it from you. Now, if you would please follow your orders."

Henry's small smile disappeared. "Alright then. Where shall I begin?"

"Immediately after Blake Casimir entered the scene."

"Alright then." Henry took a deep breath. "So we saw Blake standing in the middle of the monument raising ghouls as always. He sees us and begins to attack us with the zombies. Alucard and Seras made quick work of them, I just tried to stand back and do what I could without becoming a problem. Eventually Seras caught a break and got up to Blake. He taunted her a bit, so I saw the chance during his monologue to make my own attack. I came from behind, but he didn't seem to care much." Henry frowned, his expressionless face turning into a grimace.

"Go on." Integra said quietly.

"He managed to take control of my body again. Against my will he made me fight Seras, but he eventually lost control of me. After that Alucard finished up with the ghouls and attacked Blake himself. Somehow Blake managed to hurt Alucard. He had him screaming." Henry paused for a moment. "I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't been there, but I think Alucard was genuinely in pain. While Alucard was screaming bloody murder some guy in a brown vest came running up to me and Seras with a gun demanding we tell him what was going on. Seras tried to convince him to run away, but at some point Alucard had lost his senses completely an succumbed to Blake's control. He shot the vested man, who died almost instantly."

"Do we know anything about the vested man?"

"I don't think so." Henry replied. "At least, I had never met him before."

"Hmm. Continue, then."

"After that Alucard and Seras began fighting. I couldn't see their fight very well because of the rain, though. Even then, I could see plain as day that Alucard had split in two; I mean, there were two Alucards."

Integra smiled softly. "But that's impossible." She probably only said that to taunt Henry. If she had heard the story twice before, this part wouldn't be a surprise.

Henry resisted the urge to give her the evil eye. "I would agree if I hadn't seen it. At that point Schrodinger showed up and explained to me how it was possible. He said that with Schrodinger's soul inside of him, Alucard was everywhere and nowhere; Alucard was under the control of Blake, but he was also too powerful to be mind controlled. The two facts clashed and it ended in a split Alucard. One under the control of Blake, and one," he paused again "Under the control of you." he finished slowly. That was the first time it had really dawned on him that both of the Alucards really had been following someone's commands. No matter who, Alucard was always just the weapon of someone else…

"Intriguing. There should only be a little more, correct?" Integra's face was completely serious again, no hint of teasing left.

"Correct. By that point the smell of Blake's injured body had reached me. His blood, I mean. I kind of… lost control. I could rationalize in my head, I remember clearly, but the rationalization was kind of skewed in one direction. Ultimately I decided it was at everyone's benefit to dispose of Blake myself before anyone could get hurt."

"So you drank his blood, correct?"

"...That is right." Henry replied carefully. He was being manipulated, he could feel it.

Integra sat back in her chair, taking a few moments to focus on smoking. After what had to be about five minutes she spoke again. "There are a few problems I see here. I'm afraid if we can't sort these out, I will have to turn you loose from the organization."

Henry flinched at the words. It was exactly as he feared. Yet, he knew it was coming. He didn't know why he was so surprised then. "Su-surely there must be a way to work things out."

Integra looked at him imposingly. "The only reason you're still alive now is at the request of Seras Victoria. I have half a mind to kick you out now. Do you think your little outburst was restricted to the hallway? I could hear every word."

Henry took a step back, fear in his eye. If she had heard that, then…

"Not only do you know your own bloodlust and you do nothing to restrain yourself, but you also don't have an ounce of respect in your body, do you? You would shout at the only reason we've kept you this long." She puffed out an extra large cloud of smoke and sat forward in her seat, glaring angrily at Henry. "Yes indeed, what is it I dislike about you?"

"I-I" Henry tripped over his words. If he failed now there was no way he would survive. "It was just one time, I-I lost my temper, I didn't mean to raise my voice, I-"

"Oh shut up. Because of that, I'll be speaking with Seras later. If you can explain your way through my other concerns, it will be her deciding your fate, not myself."

Henry opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Now, about your bloodlust. Why did you kill Blake Casimir?"

"I thought it was the right thing to do. He had caused the death of many people, and I didn't think he deserved to live. His mind control was putting Seras at risk of Alucard hurting her, which I could not allow."

"Yet you still content yourself to raise your voice at the girl?"

"..."

"You were wrong in your reasoning. Killing Blake was not for the best." Integra stood and turned to the great window behind her. "Blake could have been very useful alive. We could have known how he had learned to do the things he did, and how to stop others from doing them. Because of his death, we are now at risk of yet another man like him popping up. Lucky for you, we searched his body and found the research papers he had been working off of. They have since been properly disposed of. Now we pray to God that there aren't copies."

Henry was silent.

"Second of all, the mind control. Suppose another man like Blake does show up?"

Henry saw what she was getting at immediately. "But surely if that were to happen it would be a long time from now! And we would know the threat and take care of them more gracefully. Not to mention, my training would be more extensive, so I could at least have the resistance of Seras."

"You have high goals, boy. Unfortunately for you, those goals are nigh unattainable. Seras is the direct fledgling of Alucard. The gap between even her power and yours is too large to comprehend."

Henry paused, shaken. He could see death in front of him already, looming in the shadows. "But… Alucard! He controlled Alucard as well! If he's so powerful, then it goes without saying that I would be susceptible. It's not my fault, he was too powerful!"

"If you say that one more time you're leaving this instant. It is your fault! Back at the cemetery he was also able to control you, but Alucard was beyond his powers. This points out the difference between you two." She turned on her heels and shot daggers with her eyes. "Take responsibility. I don't need someone in my organization who can't admit when something was their fault. If you won't grow up and be an adult, I will not allow you to stay, whether you can prove your worth or not."

Henry could not speak. All words were stuck in his throat, only able to spit out unintelligible utterances.

"Though even then, I will admit you make a fair point. Because Blake was also able to control Alucard, I will not hold this against you. If Seras has forgiven you, then I will leave that alone as well. So then, we are left with only one thing."

Henry winced and looked up at the lady of iron before him. She truly was the most powerful person in the building.

"I will give you one more chance. If you fail to contain your bloodlust from here on, you will be stripped of all pardons, and regarded as the enemy. From this point forward, you are only allowed to drink the blood given to you by someone in the organization. Any breaking of this rule will result in your immediate execution. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded.

"Very well. You may go."

* * *

Rain pattered lightly on the windows of the office, the light tinkling sound ringing through the room. The water drops stuck to the glass, descending until they stuck together into larger droplets before finally making their final fall to the ground. The man sitting at his desk could barely see through the window due to the distortion caused by the droplets. Though clear, they did bend light in a way that made vision nigh impossible.

"Hmph." The man grunted in response to the shower's noises. Twitching his gray mustache with his lip, he returned to the files in his hands. He sat tall in his chair as he worked; at least, as tall as he could. He was a rather stout man, in fact, having to put his chair far behind the desk to fit his bulbous stomach behind it.

He closed his eyes for a moment in meditation; or, in all honesty, just to rest them. Through the transparent shield of the water he could see that it was dark outside. A glance at his clock gave him the time; around ten at night. By this time most people would have packed up from work and headed home, but unfortunately he was unable to. Grunting once more, he opened his brown eyes and turned his head down towards the papers once more.

His eyes, however, still refused to listen to night was going to be very unpleasant after all.

He furrowed his gray eyebrows in frustration of his own human inabilities to stay awake. It would only be a little longer and he could leave. One of his agents had reported a breakthrough, and if the report was as they hoped, they would be able to enact their plans. It was not an option to wait until the morning. Everything had to be gathered immediately before human's flawed memory could taint the scene. All circumstances had to be considered when one was betting the fate of an entire organization, after all.

He opened his eyes once more with a groan and looked back out through the window for an indeterminate amount of time before he heard a knock at his door.

It was about time.

"Come in." He called, his gravelly voice echoing in the large, but empty office. The walls contained nothing but a few paintings and the window. It was just a generic office at the top of a tall office building, as he was the head of the company. Even so, most offices had a few personal touches; but this man was extremely professional. Nothing would be there that was not completely work related.

The door on the other side of the room facing the stout man at the desk opened slowly, letting the form of the knocker be seen. "Thank you, sir." the man said in his thick accent. He stood tall with darker skin than the bulbous man at the desk's. He also wore on his face a pointed black beard, which complimented his sharp green eyes. The raven hair atop his head was neatly trimmed down to his ears. "I have come with my report as promised, Mr. Grenville." he bowed politely as if bowing on a stage after a play. Dramatically, that is.

"Very good, Mr. Earl. Fine work as always." Mr. Grenville smiled. Surely this report would be interesting enough to push back the drowsiness a bit. Twitching his walrus-like mustache again, the enormous man leaned forward in his chair, grasping the armrests.

The Spaniard in front of him, Edward Earl, looked very pleased with himself in return, smiling generously. It was difficult to discern what the man was thinking. He always wore a smile like that unless he thought social graces called for otherwise. No matter what, his expression rarely truly reflected what he felt. He usually used facial emotion for manipulation, which made him useful for information gathering.

"Trouble arose in England yesterday night concerning the scientist and London Blitz survivor Blake Casimir. Blake had been piecing together Millennium's main scientist's research to create a way to revive the dead. Unfortunately, his research was incomplete and instead gave rise only to ghouls that followed his command, even though he was not a vampire. His threat has been since neutralized." Earl explained matter of factly, his smile never wavering.

The Spaniard sat down in the chair in front of Mr. Grenville's desk before continuing. Leaning back and grasping the armrests he went on. "The English anti-vampire organization, Hellsing, run by Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, moved to eliminate this threat on their own without the consultation of any other anti-vampire organizations worldwide. However, we have confirmed they had communications going with the Iscariot Organization shortly before the incident aforementioned.

"Their work was sloppy and quickly caught the attention of a local private detective. Hellsing never answered our generous offer to help them, so I instead approached this detective, by the name of John Hawthorne." Edward continued to move his hands over his stomach comfortably as he spoke, his smile never giving a hint of vacating his face.

"In the final incident of Blake Casimir's attempts at his plans, Hellsing intervened. They sent out three agents; all three vampires, against anti-vampire organization regulations, and all three armed in some fashion. They were unable to neutralize the threat right away, giving way to potential bystander casualties." At this Edward seemed to have a difficult time holding back a chuckle. "Indeed, bystander casualties are exactly what occurred. The detective I approached was killed in the incident. The Hellsing organization did not bother to remove his body from the scene before vacating the premises."

Grenville sat back in his chair. The kind of man he saw before him was useful, but also extremely dangerous. The audacity to chuckle at the loss of person he had spent weeks with was nothing to admire. Although, one casualty to make way for enormous plans in the making was not that bad. This was what made Carl Grenville smile in return to his partner's bloodlust. "So the Hellsing organization yet again failed what it has promised to do. Tsk tsk. Well, whatever shall we do?"

Edward's eyes squinted in satisfaction, his grin growing wider and more malicious. "If they can't hold themselves up, then we have no choice but to intervene, no?" His hands came together gripping each other tightly.

Grenville leaned forward in his chair again, imitating Earl's expression. "That would be the case. We've given them oh so many opportunities to turn themselves around, but it seems they can't stand up on their own. They can't even keep one measly person alive! Their leader's simply lost her touch with age. If she had one to begin with. Even her work thirty years ago was shotty, ruining London."

Earl openly chuckled. "Indeed, indeed. I suppose we'll just have to help them stand up again. A "crutch", perhaps?"

Grenville stood from his chair and walked slowly to his office window. "We have no other choice, do we?" The rain outside grew stronger, the tinkling sound from before instead being replaced with gunshots on the window pane. Not a light in the city outside could be seen through the storm.

"I daresay Legion will make such the impression Hellsing will be reduced to groveling, no?" Edward stood and walked next to Grenville looking out at the sceneless void outside.

"Indeed, indeed, indeed."

* * *

 **This chapter was originally intended to be a rather uneventful one, but it sort of happened that content that was supposed to come later just naturally came here; and considering I lost my plans for the story, it gives me the opportunity to make it better. I find when I watch or read something, the things I enjoy most are the things where the goal you thought was going to take the entire thing get done about halfway through the book, and then you have _no idea what's going to happen next._ Anyway, perhaps I could shoot for that? I'll see where my mind goes! This chapter ended up with more verbal violence than I thought it would, but I actually enjoy how it turned out. I also thought it was going to be a shorter chapter, but with the scenes I had planned, they just kept stretching out... Originally, the part about Legion was just supposed to be a fleeting hint, but it became that. The scene with Seras was supposed to be a transition scene, but it became a fight. The scene with Integra was supposed to be a report scene, but it became something _so much more interesting._ I regret nothing.**

 **Although, again, three months ago when I was approaching the end of arc one, before my uncalled for hiatus, I had a piece of paper with the entire four arc story planned chapter by chapter. I have since lost that piece of paper. Recalling what I can, I'm putting it back together piece by piece. Anyway, it could turn out being better than it would have been before! I'm going to count my blessings and carry on.**

 **Anyway, feel free to leave a review; be it criticism, a few words, a flame even, I just want to hear from you guys every once in a while. Also, please please please favorite and follow the story if you want to! I'm just a little bit worried now that it's gotten next to no reception. Again, I like to know when someone enjoys my work, it gives me fuel for more writing!**

 **And with that, let Arc 2 begin!**

 **ADIEU!**

 **NOTE: ALRIGHT I DID IT. I wrote up chapter outlines for every chapter for the rest of the story, all four arcs planned. For now all the remaining arcs should end up at ten chapters. This may change, however, depending on circumstances. If one chapter seems too short I might merge two, and every once in a while I might come up with a funny bit of fluff I'd like to add as a bonus chapter somewhere, so expect some of that perhaps. Just know I'm no longer fumbling about like a fish on the land. Up to this point I have not even started on writing the next chapter because I didn't have my plans and I couldn't remember what I was going to do. Now that I have these written up I can continue as planned. Chapter by Saturday unless I get grounded. Have fun.**


	2. Shot in the Back

"Oof!" Henry coughed as a bullet penetrated into his stomach. He was knocked back before landing on the grass behind him, sprawled on the ground, all his muscles aching.

The sun had not yet set, but the shadows were long enough to shield him from its harmful rays for the most part. A breeze had been blowing all day, disturbing the well mowed grass below him that he had now unceremoniously found himself atop of and bleeding profusely over. Coughing once more he stood up again, the bullet wound quickly regenerating as if it were never there.

"Just one bullet and you're already sent to your body's limits? Pathetic." His assailant taunted. The great tall man walked further away from Henry than he had been before, a good hundred yards. He had already been shouting from where he stood at first, walking further away was surely just to anger Henry.

"What do you expect from me? I've never been shot before!" Henry called to Alucard, now about a hundred and twenty yards away.

"You're a vampire now, boy." The red man called. "You should at least be able to take one measly bullet. What would you do if it were one of my own and could hurt you?" His permanent smile widened for a moment as he continued. "Well, nevermind about that. If it were one of my bullets you'd be dead. If you can't dodge a mortal's weapon, then there is no way you could dodge one of mine."

Henry scowled. "I get the feeling you don't like me very much."

Alucard raised his arm once more, aiming the pistol straight at Henry. Apparently he did not deam the comment worthy of an answer. Henry braced himself for the coming shot. From that far away his sight was a little fuzzy, he could not see Alucard's finger. He would just have to wait for the sound. If it were night time that distance were hardly a match for his vampiric eyes, but with the sun still visible across the horizon his eyesight was greatly diminished. After the picture perfect vision of a vampire, he felt very near blind even as close to night as it was. Also, the sunlight had used to be unbearable. It seemed after drinking Blake's blood even a new vampire such as himself could stand to be in the sun a little while.

 _BANG!_

Henry heard the shot and side stepped immediately to his left. The bullet from Alucard's pistol whizzed past his ear, almost touching his hair. Henry froze in fear at how close he'd come to getting his head blown off.

 _BANG!_

"Ack!" Henry's hands went straight up to his throat, where another bullet was now lodged. His throat quickly regenerated itself, but the bullet was still lodged in his throat. Falling to his knees Henry coughed continuously until the deformed piece of lead finally fell into the grass. Regular guns could not hurt a vampire. Only specific materials could kill a vampire, and lead was not one of them. The bullets Alucard usually used were made of silver that had been blessed by the Pope. He found it ironic that Hellsing could get their hands on such material considering how much the Pope hated them.

Standing up again Henry glared at Alucard, who was now holding two guns in his hands, both pointed at Henry threatening to shoot. "What the hell was that?!" the boy shouted angrily at the elder vampire.

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

Acting on instinct alone, Henry fell to the ground, forcing himself as low as possible to avoid the bullets. All three shot straight over him.

 _BANG!_

"God damn it, Alucard!" Another bullet lodged itself in Henry's back, pain shooting through him. Any more being punished this much would have died long ago. It would have probably hurt more, too. Pain from mortal weapons seemed to be dulled somewhat, but he knew from Seras that pain from weapons that could potentially kill a vampire hurt more than any mortal weapon could possibly inflict.

"How do you think that would work in battle, boy?" Alucard appeared standing over him, reaching out a hand. Henry's face did not lighten up, but he accepted the offer to help him stand up. The boy fingered at his back trying to find the place where the bullet had pierced him. It would be better to go ahead and dig that out of his skin. "Do you think falling to the ground would save you when bullets are flying everywhere? Do you think you would be lucky enough to only be shot by mortal bullets? If you continue with that attitude you won't last long."

Henry wiped grass trimmings off of his shirt. "Why are we even doing this? It's not like anyone else uses anti-vampire bullets but organizations like ourselves. What are the chances we would be against anyone with them?"

"Higher than you would care to think." Alucard stated. "You've learned how to shoot a gun as a vampire but what about avoiding them?"

"You never avoid bullets." Henry mused out loud.

"I have no need to. You, however, would die on contact. But if you have a death wish yourself, I would be more than happy to oblige." Alucard's grin did not waver an inch. "The difference between us two is a gap that you cannot cross. Don't compare yourself to me."

"Mmm." Henry grunted as he managed to remove the bit of lead. "You said I have learned to shoot proficiently. Why is it I've never been supplied a gun to fight with?"

"Proficient would be an overstatement. You can shoot one, and that is the complete extent of your reach. The battles you have been a part of you did not need one, did you?" Alucard started to walk away again, raising a gun behind his back. "If you would like we will start supplying you with one."

 _BANG!_

Alucard shot the gun directly at Henry's face. Half ducking and half stepping to the side, Henry felt the bullet graze the side of his head, leaving a burn that quickly healed.

The elder vampire turned around once more and faced Henry, his mouth now straight. "Your vampiric senses are more useful than you seem to give it credit for. It is not sight, it's sense, and it can sense everything. You can shoot a gun with it because you sense the target. The same rule can be applied to avoiding a bullet. Sense the bullet before it gets close."

Henry remembered being taught a bit about that weeks before when he had been training to shoot a gun. It would make sense that the same logic could be used elsewhere. Henry paused for moment thinking it over, then nodded at Alucard.

Alucard did not acknowledge Henry's motion, but instead walked further away, finally turning around at about a hundred yards out and pointing both his guns at Henry. Henry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Concentrate.

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

Henry opened his eyes and sidestepped once more. A bullet blew through the air beside his head, inches away from hitting him. Ducking a small bit he went under the second bullet. Sidestepping again another piece of lead blew past him.

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

The bullets continued around him, a seemingly unending torrent of lead. Henry continued jumping around, concentrating on where the bullets were coming from rather than when they were shot. Side stepping once more two bullets went by his head, one on either side.

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

The barrage continued, bullet after bullet flying around him, nearly hitting his head, getting close to his side. It seemed Henry was finally getting the hang of i-

"God damn it!" Henry fell to the ground in a heap, hands reflexively going to his ankle. A stray bullet he hadn't noticed went lower than any of the others, hitting him square in the bone on the ankle, and forcing him to the ground.

"You let your guard down." Alucard called.

Henry grasped his ankle in pain. "What do you mean my guard was down? That was foul play if I've ever seen it, shooting at my leg."

Alucard once more seemed to step out of the air and into Henry's presence. This time, however, he did not extend a hand to help him stand up. "Are your enemies going to play fair? Expect everything. Don't assume that you know everything going on around you, actually focus. Be sure of everything around you, even the most unexpected things."

By then Henry's ankle had regenerated. He stood again and looked Alucard in the eye. "How much trouble would I be in if I were to go grab a gun right now and shoot you through the head?"

Alucard did not answer, instead just smiling and raising his gun's barrel to Henry's chest.

 _BANG!_

* * *

The sound of gunshots rang through the mansion's grounds. Even from the other side of the manor Seras could tell Alucard was giving Henry a hard time. She knew Henry was supposed to go out training, but Alucard had told her that he would handle it for the day. Judging by how quickly the guns were fired in succession, it seemed Alucard was following through on that promise.

"E Gads, they're making quite the ruckus out there, aren't they?" One of the young men at the great table commented.

Seras brought her attention back to what was going on around her. She stood beside a large oval table occupied by a multitude of men. Beside seras at the head of the table sat Integra herself. The other chairs were occupied by various men Seras recognized, but had never learned the names of save for three of the twelve.

Sir Gregory Penwood was a stout young man in his upper twenties, with dark brown hair atop his head and a matching thick mustache on his lip. Beside him sat Lieutenant Walsh, an old man with dishevelled light gray hair, and an unruly gray beard on his chin. At the head of the table opposite Integra sat the Convention's president, Sir Islands. Islands possessed light blond hair atop his bespectacled face, where glasses sat on his comically large nose.

Integra nodded at Penwood, the one who had spoken. "Indeed. Currently Alucard is training our newest recruit."

At her words Penwood's eyes widened. "You mean-" The poor man looked genuinely scared. It seemed he possessed the bravery that most believed his father to posses; that is, none at all.

Integra's face cracked into a small, smirking smile. "Yes, another vampire."

Sir Islands immediately raised his voice in response. "Sir Integra, we were not informed of any new recruits, much less another vampire. Would you like to explain?" Despite his volume increasing, Islands still kept his calm demeanor that he never allowed to waver.

Integra's face returned to seriousness. Nodding in acknowledgement she answered. "He was an unfortunate circumstance in one of the vampire attacks a few weeks ago, slightly before the trouble with the necromancer. We had located a vampire in a church that night and sent Alucard and Seras to exterminate it. The vampire managed to get to the boy before we were able to kill it."

Sir Islands reached to his face and adjusted his glasses. "Then I only have one question on the matter."

"Yes?"

"Why is he still alive?" Island's face betrayed no emotion as he spoke. Integra stared him straight in the eyes as she spoke, her face just as stonelike. "He was an incident at the scene similar to Seras. As long as he upholds the rules we set in place, I see no reason to exterminate him now."

Seras held back the urge to look surprised at Integra. The iron lady had told Seras the night before that it was her choice on what they do with Henry. Seras had decided to keep him around and see if they could turn him around, but she did not think Integra would so adamantly defend him in front of the round table. She had seemed angry with the boy the night before because of his outburst.

"Lady Integra, have you forgotten that Seras is bound to you? What of this rogue boy? Have you bound him as well?" Islands inquired skeptically.

"No. I'm afraid I do not possess the knowledge necessary to perform something like that. The boy, however, does know that if he does not follow orders he will be exterminated with as much mercy as any other vampire we hunt." Integra answered.

" _Zat is unfortunate, no?"_ Seras heard an accented voice from inside her. Pip Bernadotte, the leader of the Wild Geese, a mercenary band from thirty years before, could speak with her due to drinking his blood. Fortunately, no one else in the room could hear him. Pip spoke from within her mind, not physically due to not having a corporeal form.

Likewise, Seras could answer through thought. ' _What is?'_ she asked the Frenchman.

" _Zat Integra cannot bind ze boy. If that were to happen there would no longer be need to hurt him. I know that's exactly what you wish would happen."_ Pip would know. He had become a part of her, and as such could also see her thoughts.

' _I suppose it would help. If he was bound he wouldn't have the ability to go against orders. Although, Integra's not very happy with him right now. Do you think she would if she could?'_

" _Would she? Admittedly, no. I don't zink she would. I do zink zat if he could make himself useful while also following ze rules zen she would. But do you zink he is capable of that?"_

Seras looked to the ground. The meeting was continuing as usual, nothing or extreme interest coming up. Mostly what the men did was complain that Hellsing spent too much money, but they had not run out yet. ' _If...if I could help him, I would in any way I can. I'm just not sure how. I don't want to tell him to hold onto his humanity. That would just put him through more pain already, and Master would be angry with me.'_

" _Zat would seem to be a problem. Zough, Seras, I cannot help but wonder...would it really help?"_

Seras' face took on a questioning look. What was he saying? ' _I'm afraid I don't understand…'_

" _My dear, I'm talking about Integra's death."_

Seras was taken aback for a moment. She had to swallow an exclamation she was about to say out loud in the meeting room.

"Seras?"

Seras regained her composure and looked towards Integra, who was looking at her from her chair. Looking around the table, the draculina realized the entire table was staring at her! She must have been making quite the scene… "Sorry, ma'am, it was nothing."

One of the men at the table eyed Seras down and grunted. "So, as I was saying. About this new helicopter you requested…"

' _Pip, what are you getting at? Integra may be aging, but she's not in the grave yet. I'd go so far as to say she'll live to be over a hundred!'_

" _No doubt, but when she does? Ze seals, Seras, the seals! With Integra's death the seals will be broken. Integra has no children. Zere are no more heirs to Hellsing. With her death, Hellsing will end. Zen not only will Henry be without defense, but so will you and Alucard. Without a way to control you, the state will turn on you, will it not?"_

Seras was stunned. Pip was right. When Integra died Hellsing would be no more. No seals would save anyone then.

" _I am curious, Seras. What are you going to do when zat happens? Integra will die someday, zat is not arguable. What are you going to do?"_

' _I...I'll probably just follow Alucard wherever he runs off to. I'm not sure what else I should do.'_

" _Will ze boy do zat?"_

"Finally, we come to the final thing on the agenda. Sir Integra," Sir Islands called. Seras returned her attention to the meeting. Whatever dull thing they were discussing was surely better than musing over her boss's death.

"Yes, Sir Islands?" Integra sat forward in her chair, elbows on the table and fingers weaved together under her nose.

"We have heard tell that you have recently had contact with both the Vatican's Section Thirteen and the American's Legion. Would you like to report what was going on in these meetings?" Islands asked.

Integra smirked in reply. "Yes, that would be true. Chief Makube of Iscariot came by to warn us of an impending attack by Legion. He informed us that Legion would like to control the world's vampire hunting by itself and become a world power. The Pope is also in support of wiping out Hellsing, and is therefore likely to join Legion in their endeavors."

Penwood wore a confused face where he sat. "Iscariot gave you useful information? Since when have they gotten used to being close with us?"

Integra's amused smile grew slightly. "Makube is against the idea. He believes that when Legion destroys us they will turn on the Vatican as well, and they are not strong enough to beat Legion themselves. He would rather not help Legion is destroying the one thing that keeps them at bay from hurting them as well."

Penwood opened his mouth to say something more, but was interrupted by Sir Islands, whose face still had yet to make a move in any emotion. "And your meeting with Legion?"

Integra nodded. "Yes, of course. Legion sent over a lower ranking member in an offer to extend a hand. They believed we were not fighting Blake Casimir efficiently enough and that we would need help. As it seems, they really just wanted to move a few operatives into Hellsing and slowly take over that way. I denied their offer and they promptly left."

Islands sat forward in his chair. "What do you think of this?"

Integra in turn sat back in her own chair, still smirking. "I imagine Legion will make their move soon. The information Makube gave us seems to be trustworthy. Since we denied their offer for help, Legion will probably be forming an attack on us soon. We should be ready for an offensive front at any moment."

Islands nodded. "I trust you will be able to handle it?" Islands knew of the things Integra had accomplished. He did not doubt her ability to force down the threat Legion posed with ease. She had fought larger armies.

At this one man at the table started cackling loudly. All eyes turned to the one making the ruckus; Lieutenant Walsh. His head was thrown upward letting out a hearty laugh as if he'd heard the funniest thing in the world. His eyes were almost releasing a tear because of it. "Ahuhuhu, if anyone at this table doubts that _she'll_ be able to, then there's not a person alive that could help us now. Fortunately, this is nowhere near the worst thing Ol' Integra's seen. I doubt we'll be hearing much more of this at any of these meetings."

Integra opened a box in front of her and pulled out a cigar. Seras saw her do this and fumbled about her pockets searching for a lighter. Finding one, she lit Integra's cigar and stood back again. "Indeed, Mr. Walsh. Legion should not be that large a problem for us."

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

The sound of bullets hitting brick filled the room. Some of the bullets from Henry's training must have gone astray. Integra closed her eyes and brought her fingers to her forehead. "And while we're here to say it, could someone please find a repairman?"

* * *

 **Oho, and here's chapter two! Everything running smoothly!**

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